Hill climbing - Giant, Wisper or Kalkoff?

[Marny Hill]

I have so far owned a Wisper Alpino and Giant Twist Esprit. The Wisper is a wonderful bike but proved too big for me, so I sold it but it was amazing on hills and had plenty of power and also distance. The Giant which I replaced it with was very comfortable but has not got either the power or distance that I got with the Wisper. The Giant fits me perfectly but I am now thinking of the Kalkoff Impulse? Can anyone tell me whether this will give me the distance and power of the Wisper?

 

[JuicyBike]

Many of our customers report much better power and range than the Giant, and choose our Classic in preference.

 

[flecc]

The Kalkhoff Impulse with it's 15 Ah battery will proabbly give you sufficient range to match that Wisper, but like all the crank drive bikes it has slightly lower power and relies on the motor being able to use the gears for climbing. So it will climb anything, and on the very steepest hills will need less effort contributed from you than the Wisper, but the climb will will be slower in the lower gears of course.

On hills other than the steepest the Wisper is likely to be faster and judging from your experiences,I'd say the journey average speeds of the Kalkhoff could be slightly lower. I don't think the difference will be great though.

Of much more importance is how you find riding that type of crank drive against the hub motor bikes you've had so far. They really are very different so it's important that you try before you buy, since for some this is a "marmite" thing. Whilst pedelec crank drives are popular with many, some really hate them so you really should check that out.

 

[NRG]

Good description Flecc, it boils down to wether you like to spin or mash going up hills. Those that spin will find the Kalkhoff type of crank drive alien to them and may well label them as poor hill climbers.

 

[10mph]

Good description Flecc, it boils down to whether you like to spin or mash going up hills. Those that spin will find the Kalkhoff type of crank drive alien to them and may well label them as poor hill climbers.

Interesting. I must be a masher then.

Edit- I just googled and found this excellent article by a coach who is a masher.

 

[flecc]

Interesting. I must be a masher then.

I think most Panasonic unit riders are likely to be mashers, given the power profiling of them until recently and the torque sensor characteristics.

 

[eddieo]

As a BIG Wisper fan can I suggest you try a Bosch powered crank drive bike.These are very powerful and climb well, Haibike, Scott, Hercules, BH Emotion and KTM are available in UK. 35 European manufacturers have adopted this system since 2011. Most bikes weigh around the 20kg mark and have a normal wheelbase as battery within frame

 

[Blew it]

Trouble is Edd, trying to get hold of one! BH-Emotion are available now, but the Haibikes and KTM's probably around end of May- beginning of June (week nineteen).

Regarding Haibikes, opinions seem to suggest they are more or less made to order. It appears the volume of each production run is closely related to pre-orders, with a few extra machines added to each scheduled run. Lead times for the very high end variants are as far out as August...you could be half a year older by the time it arrives.

Personally, I don't mind waiting as I have other machines to ride, and of course the assurance of a very fresh battery is a bonus

 

[eddieo]

The price of being successful and in high demand I guess.... have noticed on german forum some models seem to be available while others not. Frustrating when you want to get your hands on something though! When my wife finaly comes around to an electric bike again (driving me nuts on this holiday as I have to ride on minimum assist to stay with her)

an e folder would suit us with the camper, if I can find one that is light and pleasant to ride.....failing that I will look at KTM bosch again, maybe the 29'er

 

[OxygenJames]

There's always Ebay in Germany - they have loads of Haibikes - just takes a while to find somebody who is willing to ship to the UK but they are there. Here's an example: Right Here

 

[OxygenJames]

Here's one on Ebay Singapore - who will ship to the UK for about £60. Right here!

 

[Blew it]

There's always Ebay in Germany - they have loads of Haibikes - just takes a while to find somebody who is willing to ship to the UK but they are there. Here's an example: Right Here

....Shipping to: only self collection.............?

 

[Blew it]

Here's one on Ebay Singapore - who will ship to the UK for about £60. Right here!

Yep! shame it's 56cm frame size

 

[Kudoscycles]

KTM have appointed a uk distributor,he is not intending to hold stock but assures me he will be shipping reliably from Austria. I gave KTM an order for 50 Macina Bold bikes,waited 6 months and they then said they could not supply,be interesting if the new guy has better luck.BH Emotion bikes are available ex stock from Kudos Cycles.
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[Blew it]

Just to clarify my points in post #8. Delivery times for Haibike and KTM machines apply to the whole of Europe, not just Britain.

 

[Cakey]

I wonder if ktm will send the egnition ?

 

[Marny Hill]

Thanks for all the info - I have looked at BH Emotion site but not sure which would suit - will 'phone on Monday to get some information. I require a small frame with step through, 36v battery with 15ah or 18ah to give me the power and distance of the Wisper and that doesn't seem to be a popular combination. So far the Kalkoff does appear to have just about all I need but I will keep searching. Oh - I also want hub gears! I am not happy with my Giant at all - it has had quite a few problems over the first year and at the moment is back at the Giant factory. I am still not sure whether I have understood what made the Wisper be so much more powerful than the Giant and get such a greater distance from each battery charge?

 

[flecc]

I am still not sure whether I have understood what made the Wisper be so much more powerful than the Giant and get such a greater distance from each battery charge?

There are several factors here. First the Giant is undoubtedly a quite heavy bike, and extra weight uses more current in climbing. Second is the battery quality, Wisper's battery is made by Advance and it's one of the best of available batteries. I don't know who supplies the Giant batteries, but they won't be any better and could be not quite as good. Finally there's the motors used. The Alpino's motor is a very recent up to date design, but the Giant uses a derivative of a motor designed many years ago in the USA, the design later bought by Sanyo. It's been altered many times, but that isn't the same thing as a bang up to the minute design so may not have the same efficiency.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Marny,

Hub motored bikes, I think I can say with confidence that current eZee motors are match for anything legal on the market in terms of performance and reliability, the same goes for controllers, batteries and other components.

In the not to distant future the latest upgraded models will be arriving in the UK, more on that at a later date


Below is one example